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Haydn: String Quartet, Op. 51 'Seven Last Words'

This page lists all recordings of String Quartet, Op. 51 'Seven Last Words', by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809) on CD, SACD & download (MP3 & FLAC). Generally, more recent releases are listed first, but with priority given to those that are in stock.

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Haydn wrote his 'Seven Last Words' in 1786/87 for Good Friday devotions in Cádiz. Although the custom in Cádiz was to perform an oratorio, Haydn's brief was in fact to write seven movements for orchestra alone, each creating a mood inspired by one of the sayings attributed to the dying Christ. He chose to frame them with a further slow movement called ‘Introduzione’ and a concluding Presto entitled ‘Il Terremoto’, intended to depict the earthquake that occurred after Christ’s death (Matthew 27:51).

This purely instrumental ‘oratorio’ consisting of seven contemplative slow movements was by no means an easy task; but the outcome was a work of sublime nobility, which in Haydn’s own transcription for string quartet has enjoyed unfailing popularity ever since.

It is entirely appropriate that this recording of Haydn’s 'Seven Last Words of Christ' should be performed by the Cuarteto Casals, for the work represents one of the few surviving traces of the composer’s flourishing relationship with Spain, where his music seems quickly to have become as popular as it was in France and Britain. There is footage of excerpts from the 'Seven Last Words' on our harmonia mundi YouTube channel recorded at Oratorio de Santa Cueva, Cadiz, the place for which the work was orginally written.

“The Casals bring a rapt spiritual intensity and high emotional drama to the piece.” Sunday Times, 9th March 2014

“Using Classical bows, the variety of nuance and colour these players derive from gradations of vibrato and bow pressure alone constitutes a masterclass in quartet playing. Yet it is the sheer intensity and range of expression that transfixes the ear...Truly a revelation.” BBC Music Magazine, June 2014 *****

“Anyone who has encountered previous releases from this group will know what to expect: seriously lean textures, an austere avoidance of vibrato leading to a certain wiriness of sound, an extraordinary clarity of detail and attention to nuance, stark contrasts of staccato and legato, an utter lack of sentimentality that at the same time allows a high degree of expressivity.” International Record Review, May 2014

“The key quality with the Cuarteto Casals is consistent poise - or, rather, poise coupled with a complete understanding of Haydn's textural colouring...The players use a minimal amount of vibrato, reserving it for emotional effect rather than as a standard tool.” Gramophone Magazine, June 2014

In 1786, Joseph Haydn was confronted with perhaps the most unusual and (as he was later to describe himself) challenging musical commission, which he had received in his career to date. Furthermore, the request was for a work, which would claim utmost individuality in a Classical era, which had provided no shortage of sacred texts set to prodigious pieces of music. 1783 had seen the first performance of Mozart's largescale C minor Mass, and Haydn himself had been highly acclaimed for the series of sacred works he had already produced before this time. However, an increasingly popular form of Good Friday worship was developing in southern Europe, which melded both ancient and modern concepts: the three-hour Good Friday rituals (which had been widely practised since Roman times, and which would often incorporate some form of dramatic narrative on the events of the Good Friday story) were, more and more frequently, being replaced with services of a much more devotional atmosphere. Out of this evolved a most meditative of liturgies: The Seven Last Words of Jesus Christ Upon the Cross.

Haydn did succeed in creating a unique composition, and provided some of the most pensive and intimate moments of his entire musical output. The work was scored for a typical classical orchestra, and Haydn did extend the piece to contain nine movements.

A classic recording by the Guarneri Quartet, now reissued on Newton Classics.

Haydn: Seven Last Words & Mozart: Oboe Quartet

Without any commission or payment, purely for pleasure, W.A. Mozart composed this quartet for a “most esteemed” friend - the most wonderful work that was ever written for the oboe. Mozart always wrote his solo works closely related to the abilities of his performers: Ramm’s playing and virtuosity on the oboe must have really inspired him. After numerous years as resident composer and Director of Court Music at the Esterhazy castle, Joseph Haydn’s fame as a great composer of genius had spread across all of Europe - no wonder, when one considers the consistency with which he developed the form of the symphony and the string quartet in more than 100 works, from “Sturm und Drang” to the beginnings of Romanticism, not to mention his many other creations.